The black bird rises as the white bird falls
by Cherry chain
Summary: The name's Raven, and I 'aint Schwann, ya hear me? That damned idiot's got nothin' ta do with me. There's gonna be spoilers in 'ere I warn ya.


Look, m'name's not Schwann. Sheesh, how many times do I have to say it? I'm Raven, member o' Altosk, hero of the world, an' pretty handsome if I do say so meself. Schwann? How does anyone get the idea that I'm that poor bloke?

The fella before the great war 'aint so bad, he was a pretty good knight. Got 'is own brigade half-way through the war. Heard he was pretty relieved 'bout that, apparently he had been serving under a knight who had started off the same time as 'im. Not to mention that knight was a girl, Casey I think 'er name was? Hahah, must've been hard on him. Heard he liked her too. Schwann didn't have much luck with the lady though, she ended up with another knight. Now if that was meself, the girl would've been mine already.

But yeah, like I was sayin', he wasn't a bad guy before the war. He died near the end of it, stabbed through the heart by an Entelexia. His best friend Alexei did everything to bring 'im back, and suceeded by makin' some weird blastia to replace his heart. Y'see, this is where everything went bad. Schwann was bound by some sick, twisted honour, in the belief he had to pay Alexei back somehow, that he owed the commandant his life, that the commandant _owned_ his life. That damned idiot gave Alexei his life, allowed Alexei to pursue his power hungry goals. That damned bastard Alexei, I can't wait to throttle 'im in hell. I hope he didn't die too fast up there at Zaude.

Schwann did everything Alexei told 'im to do, castin' aside everything else. I guess that's when Raven came inta being, but goddammit, I am not Schwann, never that idiot. No one owns this old man's life except meself, and I have to say, I've still got quite a few years left in me. On the outside, Schwann acted like the noble, honourable knight he was supposed ta be, and was pretty well respected. And in that regard, he did some good, trained his knights well to think 'bout the needs of the civilians instead o' themselves. That was probably the only thing he did right.

But Schwann was no longer that honourable knight he used ta be. Just a puppet, a resigned, unthinking, damned puppet of Alexei. He stood aside while Alexei planned for his conquest. He allowed everything Alexei did and planned ta do go unchallenged. The kidnapping of the princess, the elimination of that knight, Flynn...damn, he even purposely supported Ioder as the Imperial candidate just to make sure there was no unified support beneath either candidate. Ta make his own way to the top smoother. Schwann just stood back and watched, or worse, actually did the tasks himself.

I'll never forgive 'im for one thing in particular. He kidnapped Estelle, and she fell into Alexei's wretched grasp. That poor girl, she suffered much because of 'im. Making her hurt her own friends...how twisted can ya get?

And not only did Schwann do that horrible act, of forcing another under Alexei's will, he also betrayed the trust of his friends. He entered their party, all just ta watch the Princess. They gave 'im their trust, saved his sorry butt several times, and showed him kindness that he had been devoid of for several years. Those kids gave 'im back so much he had lost. Ah, I can't help but be proud of those kids, all of them rose above their own limitations, and brought Brave Vesperia ta glory.

But damn it, Schwann betrayed them. Schwann not only kidnapped Estellise, condemning her to Alexei's schemes, he stayed behind, willing ta give his own life to kill those kids. He almost did it, goddammit, he almost did it! The kids didn't have 'is experience, those kids had so much ta lose, and he had none. He fought with everything he had, while the kids hesitated in hurting their perceived friend. All except Yuri of course, that damned stubborn fool gave it his all, like in everything he does.

Did ya know Schwann had an openin', where his sword had slipped past Yuri's defences? He almost did it then, he almost killed the boy. He _would_ have killed the boy, but this here Raven didn't let him. May the sky fall before the day that boy does. Yuri's destined for far greater things than to die in the godforsaken Baction.

He helped the kids escape in the end, but that doesn't lessen any of the crimes he's already committed. Schwann died at Baction that day.

Actually, I like to think that Schwann died that day back during the Great war, when an Entelexia's claw pierced 'is heart. That Schwann should have stayed dead, at least then, he would have escaped the shame of his actions in the present. The Schwann Alexei brought back is a shadow of his former self, stripped of his honour, and the sense of justice he held so dear before. He's dead now, and may he stay dead.

Like I said, I'm not Schwann. I'm alive and standin' here right now. I'm here, watchin' the kids get their deserved respect and glory, livin' me own life.

'Aint no one's clippin' this old raven's wings.

* * *

AN: Hmm, not sure where this came from. I just had an urge to start ranting as Raven. Not unlike my Nephry fic in that regard I guess.

I've had a lot of discussions with people about why the heck Raven never just went "Screw you Alexei," and stabbed him dead. The explanation I've come up with and is satisfied with is the fact that Alexei saved his life, and as someone who's embraced the beliefs of the Union, it's a debt he couldn't let go unpaid. That, and that he and Alexei were probably really good friend before.

Hope you enjoyed Raven's little rant.


End file.
